“Every theme has elements in it that appeal to different people. It’s your job as a designer to find these elements.”

— Nat Levan (@OakleafGames)

Getting players invested in your game’s theme:

http://oakleafgames.wordpress.com/2014/10/08/choosing-a-game-idea

Why marketing your game should begin as you design it:

http://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/34663/how-build-game-7-want-kickstart-your-game-marketin

Thoughts on designing dexterity games:

http://www.3dtotalgames.com/dexterity-games/

How to go about cutting from your design:

http://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/34638/how-build-game-11-cut-cut-cutfind-base-game

Australian playtesting events for October 2014:

http://www.reddit.com/r/tabletopgamedesign/comments/2ii18e/australian_playtest_events_october/

The theme for the October 2014 24-hour game design contest is “pumpkin”:

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1248370/24-hour-contest-october-2014

How designers can approach difficult themes in board games:

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamepodcastepisode/129773/long-view-difficult-themes-and-battle-five-armies

Creating tension through the decision-resolution cycle:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/34527/creating-tension-through-decision-resolution-cycle

Ignacy Trzewiczek (@trzewik) joins Something From Nothing to discuss thematic games, publishing mistakes, starting out as a designer, taking advice and feedback, and more

“Enter every discussion knowing what works with your game and what isn’t currently working. Design is an art, but development can be more scientific.”

— Grant Rodiek (@HyperboleGrant)

“Never make changes to your game just to change stuff. Understand fully what the problem is that you’re trying to solve and why you think the change will address it. Otherwise, you will meander for months or years with no forward progress.”

— Grant Rodiek (@HyperboleGrant)

What do you do when a tester says, “You removed my favorite feature"?

http://hyperbolegames.com/2014/10/06/ignoring-kind-feedback/

How to maximize the benefit of a given theme to the game’s overall experience:

http://www.gamesprecipice.com/theme-execution/

“Thematic design is about players making intuitive decisions that appropriately mimic their thematic equivalent.”

— Grant Rodiek (@HyperboleGrant)

How to research a theme:

http://hyperbolegames.com/2014/10/03/researching-theme/

Making Kickstarter campaign decisions by asking, “Who does it benefit?”:

http://www.leagueofgamemakers.com/reflection-1-backers-first/

“If you receive a negative review, and you will, you’re allowed to do one thing: Post, “Thanks for the review.” You may also try, “I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the game. Thanks for the review.””

— Grant Rodiek (@HyperboleGrant)

Card games vs. board games: Why some players are turning to smaller card-based games:

http://pulsiphergamedesign.blogspot.com/2014/10/really-small-games-card-version.html

Using reviews to improve your designs:

http://hyperbolegames.com/2014/10/02/using-reviews-to-improve-games/